Quilting with Rosie Archives

I just checked and my radio show with Rosie is up in the Archives!

After clicking, you will find the recent shows listed on the column on the right side of the page. You can choose from Windows Audio or MP3 to listen. I couldn't find a way to save it....just listen.

Hang Those Lights!!

Bonnie M from TX sent me this pic with the following caption:

My wife has been on my case to get the Christmas lights up for a couple of weeks.

They are up now and for some reason she will not talk to me.

Thanks for the laugh, Bonnie!! I also mailed her back to tell her how funny it is that we, two Bonnies, are both married to guys named David. Twilight Zone music needs to play, I tell ya!

I've been out to pick up a few goodies this morning, I've also been to the bank...and joined the Mall Walkers for about 45 minutes of hard fast power walking. Nice to be able to walk in climate controlled spaces! :cD

I've started the binding on "Crabapples", a leader ender top that I finished a couple years ago. Yes, it finally got quilted! So binding is commencing on that.

I've put together a turquoise backing for the Mad City Mama quilt..not sure when that will get on the machine, I've got some other things in the work for today.

And tonight I have an honest-to-goodness Christmas party to go to! Will that bring on more Christmas Spirit around here? I hope so.

Did you get your 15 minutes of something Quilty yesterday? I Hope SO!

Mad City Mama!

Part of the fun of traveling to teach is experiencing places that are "NOT" Chain type places that you would find anywhere. Madison Wisconsin has a TON....a PLETHORA (don't you love that word?) of unique places to discover!

The very first day I was there, I drove up from Mc Henry, IL...and picked up my friend Randy who had flown in the night before to join me at the retreat I was teaching at. We always have so much fun together. Randy is GREAT at finding places to eat by using "City Search" on her phone ;c)

One of the places she found was a Brewery Pub called Great Dane in Downtown Madison. It was the perfect place to experience things like deep fried cheese curds, bratwurst, and other yummies!

I love reading menus. Sometimes the names of things are just SO GREAT they would make fabulous quilt titles. Hense,the title of this post. There is a dish on the menu called "Mad City Mama's Meatloaf". Isn't that GREAT!?? So the name of this quilt, Mad City Mama was born. (Madison is referred to as Mad City)

The fact that this quilt was sewn on 3 different machines, made the piecing a bit of a challenge. I should have named this quilt "In search of a Galloping Horse" because the piecing is WAY less than perfect, but perfection was never my main goal to begin with. Just know this....start with one machine,and finish with that same machine, don't go machine hopping..it's just no good!

The main reason I wanted to do this quilt was to use up a mass of 1.5" squares and strips. My first design was so mushy that I had to revise it and revise it again. You see, I'm not a EQ designer. I just make a bunch of units and lay them out and play with them, letting things evolve as I go. And the 25 patch blocks and rail blocks were SO mushy.

Darlynn, bless her heart, had a BOLT of a black kona solid with her, so I bummed a yard! And the rail blocks became striped snowball blocks.

At Patsy's....we put everything up on the design wall and thought we'd like to have some plain blocks in there..but at this point everything was set block to block without sashing. Again. Too mushy.

Night before last I started separating things into BIG star blocks, and put the yellow sashing in there and it finally sang to me.

Yep. It's big. Yep. The sashing is WIDE. I'm really inspired by antique quilts that break conventional rules, and time and time again I fall back on those things that please me, whether it matches up with a preconceived idea of a Fibonacci Sequence or not.

The purple fabric (yes it is a periwinkle that is more purple than blue in reality) came from the Ben Franklin in Oconomowoc (I love spelling that word too!) Wisconsin. Fun memories of my trip there!

I'm not sure about borders yet. The last time I asked about borders on a quilt I couldn't decide on, I ended up putting on a border that I really didn't like.....and...I think that one is going to come OFF at some point!

Don't you really think the "home dec" industry plays too big a part in what we think a quilt has to have to be "RIGHT"? (Borders that go around all 4 sides, no rows of 1/2 blocks, etc) In the antiques I love, many of them do NOT have borders. They end where the sashing does, or sometimes the sashing doesn't even contain that last outer row...It's just done when the quilt is big enough.

The question is....is this one big enough? Right now it's 76" square, so I suppose there is room for something on the outside, if I want it to be bed sized..but do I? It may have to sit and stew a bit for me to decide.

I'm headed out in a bit to meet up with Mrs Goodneedle at the Charity Quilt Bee at her church. I haven't seen the ladies in over a month! I've got a top that Karen sent in from Heartstrings for the ladies to tie and donate to the Southwest Indian Project. I've got my FW and strips already cut for another Streak of Sunshine I hope to get pieced this morning. More than anything I want to catch up with Mrs G!

The Radio Broadcast from yesterday should be archived by sometime this evening according to Rosie. If you missed it, you can go back to the link from yesterday and check the archives. I'll post the url when I know what it is.

Do something quilty today, even if it is only for 15 minutes!

Interview with Rosie!

I'm doing a phone interview with Rosie of Rosie's Calico Cupboard in a couple hours!

Can you tune in to Quilting with Rosie? Yes you can! And it's live! Click HERE for info :c)

The fun begins at 11am Pacific time! (that's 2pm my time....I keep checking the clock!)

In the Spirit of Yesterday's Post...

WOW!

I didn't think that my question about who is responsible for Christmas in your house would get such a variety of replies! I think many of us are feeling overwhelmed. (I love that word overwhelmed....reminds me of a question I heard once....is anyone ever just plain ole WHELMED? Or ....under-whelmed? What is Whelmed anyway? :cÞ)



Just in time, this funny pictorial of Red Neck Christmas Decorating came into my email box (Thanks Randee T!) and I thought it might give you a giggle. It's something that, yes.....even my menfolk might want to try!

*NOTE* Since these pics came in an email, I have no idea who they belong to. It is not my intention to "steal" pics, so I'm happy to link if someone can send me the original site.

*UPDATE* (Dec 2, 2009!) Almost a year from this post, someone sent me the LINK for these pics! Thanks!



Plus..I think once this is assembled, you can just throw a sheet over it and leave it in the garage all year!

Supplies Needed?

About 379 Mountain Dew Cans (give or take a few)
PVC Pipe
Wire (or as they say here in the Deep Southeast... WAHHHHHRRR!)
DRILL. (Oh yes, power tools get their attention!)
Christmas Tree Stand.
Shag Carpet Optional ;c)



I'm sitting here wondering how this would look with my affinity to diet Dr Pepper cans :c)



Add some lights, some ornaments, and a big 2 liter bottle "angel" for the top!





Turn on the Christmas music...preferably "Grandma Got Runover By A Reindeer" Or my latest Red Neck Christmas favorite, Jeff Foxworthy's 12 days of Christmas!



Yes, Virginia...I'm really getting into the mood now! I have to laugh at this because I have a friend who has an old mustang GT....This one is dedicated to you!

Christmas Participation?

Every year at my house....the same thing happens.

It seems the "family" wants Christmas to be wonderful and decorative, but yet no one wants to help put up the tree, hang lights, hang stockings from the mantel, decorate ANYTHING.

It's like they expect Christmas to just "HAPPEN", and I seem to be the only one responsible for both putting it up and taking it down.

I am not a happy camper about it this year.

Last year we didn't put up the tree and stuff because the house was on the market, and the realtor suggested we keep things "neutral" and "minimalist".

This is our first Christmas in this house. I'm hoping that Jason and Kim will be able to come up, and I'd love to enjoy the lights on the tree, and all the beautiful memories that come with hanging ornaments from "Christmas Past". But how come I have to do it by myself? Did I sign up for this when I said "I DO?" Was there a statement that said "for richer, for poorer, for being solely responsible for Christmas decorations until death do you part?"

This leads me to this question. In your household.....is there family participation in Christmas Tree installation, or is it just your job, has always been your job, and you don't mind it being your job? Are you also responsible for putting the tree away after New Years by yourself? Or is it a family affair the way I want it to be?

Maybe I'm just dreaming....but maybe, just maybe....I'll let Christmas stay in the box until someone offers to help me put it up. ;c)


The sun came out today! I'm so HAPPY about that! It might have been only 25 degrees this morning,but the sun is out. It's not the temperature that gets me, it's the gray cloudies. Because the sky is blue and the sun is out, I went and threw the Tropical Twist quilt on the deck railing for a couple pics.

This is the quilt that is in the latest issue of Quiltmaker Magazine, of which I have YET to see, or to find on newstands!

It might look sort of familiar to you. Yes, it is a Star Struck variation....but it was a great way to use up 2" strips and still make BIGGER blocks. The bonus units from trimming the corners are used in the pinwheels in the border. It was really fun to put together. So if you want to make one yourself, go find a Quiltmaker mag ;c)

I loved the colorway. I had sent in files in various colors, and they came back with this one. I pulled strips of every different print in blues and purples with some greens and yellows added for accent. My favorite fabric? I don't think you can see it in the pics..maybe you can....but it is a lime green of pea pods. :c) I have a friend who thinks so much like I do that we often finish each other's sentences, or say the same thing at the same time. So the joke is we are "two peas in a pod."

The pea pod fabric was gifted to me, and I was happy to find it a place in this quilt.

Jeff is off work today, and he is begging Mom to treat him to lunch at the Chinese place. I can't say no to the Chinese place. I could eat Chinese food til the end of my days....it's my FAVE!

How are you going to enjoy your Tuesday?

Quilting Away....

It's always amazing to me how fast hand quilting goes even when you can only sit at it for 15 or 20 minutes at a time in between everything else. I guess it's that same ole advice on how to eat an ELEPHANT...one bite at a time!

I'm still working on the center, while thinking of what I want to do in the borders. The stripped outer border is easy enough to figure out..it's those big purple areas that I haven't decided on yet. It's my fave thing to just draw a feather in there and quilt it...but...does that make me too predictable?

The Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Quiltmaker Magazine is out to subscribers. I have a quilt pattern and article in there, and can I get my hands on the magazine? NO!! I may have to run and hit Barnes & Noble today to see if it is on the shelves yet. Silly me..I don't have a subscription,because when I have a quilt in an issue, they send me my copy free, so why have doubles? Now I'm chomping at the bit to see it.


Here are a couple pics of an antique Princess Feather quilt I snuck pics of in the museum in Charlotte. Don't worry, I didn't use flash! But I wish you could have seen it up close. I think how these ladies did all this work by window light....or kerosene at night...it's a wonder they didn't go blind! I know with my eyes, I can never get ENOUGH light...how did they do it?

I love 4 block quilts. Maybe some day I'll do more applique, but right now if I'm going to be hand stitching anything, I want it to be quilting, not applique. If I hang around appliquers long enough, will it rub off on me? Or will I always see things divided up geometrically into little pieced pieces? I really love that diamond sashing on this antique quilt :c)

DH & Son are both off to work and I am HOME ALONE! I've got the turkey carcass all boiled and picked, the broth chilled until it gels to remove the fat from the top. This morning all the veggies are chopped, the meat added back to the broth and all is simmering in my crock pot. I love days like this....

Hezekiah Alexander's Stone House

we had a great time visiting with Jason, Kim and her parents over Thanksgiving. It's amazing how much warmer a 3 hour drive can make you. The difference? About 10 degrees. It isn't that much in the summer, but in the winter...it makes all the difference between freezing and being warm! I also realized how much I miss all the green pine trees. They add so much more color to winter surroundings.

The area around where I live doesn't have nearly the amount of pines that SC does. We've got tons of hard woods..so in the winter time, the surroundings look like a bunch of dead sticks and twigs. This also means that you drive through the country side in full view of people's old buicks left up on blocks, old washing machines dumped at the end of the property, old farm equipment, etc. I liked it better in the summer where I couldn't see anyone from my kitchen window...just green trees.


Jason and Kim have an adorable pair of orange tabby cats they adopted a year ago as small kittens. What a pair these are! I always look forward to visiting my "grand kitties" to see what they are up to. The little boy's name is Coheed...and he has gotten HUGE! His favorite thing to do is to crawl into any available space, which includes the cabinet under the bathroom sink (where he proceeds to shred any bit of toilet paper that is within his reach!) a grocery bag, a box, and even MY duffel! I had placed my duffel on the kitchen table, packing, getting ready for our trip home, and I returned to find Coheed nestled deeply within. Too funny!


The little girl is Cambria, and she maybe small,but her motor is HUGE!! She has the loudest purr I've ever heard, and she is very affectionate.

On our way home from SC we stopped at the Charlotte Museum of History They have the 1774 Hezekiah Alexander Stone House on property, and you can tour it. You know me and history! I love seeing things like this, thinking what my life would have been like 225 years ago. What they had to do just to survive, to feed a family, to preserve food. Don't get me wrong, I love my modern conveniences, and I wouldn't give them up to go back in time like that, but I still feel a connection to the past.





It was amazing to see the date stamped in the cornerstone of the house. The furnishings are original. The house was lived in through WWII, and at some point it was electrified, but it had no running water or indoor plumbing added...ever..The original owner lived here with his wife and 10 children. It is amazing that all of those children lived to adulthood. That wasn't always the case in those days.

Visiting the museum was a great way to miss out on the Holiday shopping. Or should I say AVOID IT COMPLETELY!?? I am not one of those who runs out for Black Friday shopping. Black Friday is always a day for me to just stay in and spend quiet time. It's been raining since last night, so today is much the same, and I am perfectly fine with that!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

We are off this morning to Columbia where we will be spending Turkey Day with Jason and Kim, and Kim's parents, Charlotte & Jerry.

I'm packing the car....leaving this morning because I have a dental appt in Columbia, before I can even get to the FUN stuff. I broke a crown when I was in PA, and it has taken me until now to be able to be home long enough to go home to my dentist that did the crown in the first place (won't trust anyone else!) and today is the DAY!

I'm wishing you all full tummies and full hearts! Find some down time in there some where to take a few Grateful Stitches over this wonderful long weekend! I'm not sure how long we will be gone, maybe late Friday or early Saturday. Jeff isn't coming...he has to work. Ahhhhh, Bliss.....a job for Jeff..it's been SO wonderful. *LOL*

Just Quilt It....NOW!!

I finished the machine quilting on Kim and Jason's Carolina Crossroads quilt. I'm sure Charlotte will be stymied....she dropped it off to me for quilting over 4th of July weekend. What can I say about best laid intentions? It turned out REALLY nice, and when she gets the binding on, we'll get pics of it to post. Right now, I wanted her to be the FIRST to see it, so..the world will have to wait. :c)

Last night I had a VERY fun evening! Middle of the afternoon I got an email from Karen saying she had to be downtown earlier than our scheduled bee meeting, and would anyone like to join her for dinner? SURE!! Rain didn't stop me either. I managed to find Trade Street in downtown Winston Salem, and even managed to PARALLEL park in the first spot I came across. Well, mostly. I think I was too far from the curb, but the car behind me wasn't leaving much wiggle room..so I called it good enough.

I met up with Karen at Chelsee's Coffee shop, and was told that Lisa was also joining us for dinner. Because Sweet Potatoes was closed monday nights, we ended up at a little Irish Pub place called Finnegan's Wake. YUMMY FOOD! I had the teriyaki beef tips, sauteed veggies, and grilled asparagus. I know Teriyaki is NOT Irish, but hey...it was the special and I was in a special mood!

From there we walked back up to Chelsees to meet with the other Ms Bee Havens for our monthly chatter-bee. There were only a couple of us doing needle work, so that's why it was more of a chatter-bee than a quilting bee. I'd never been to Chelsees before either, but I really enjoyed it..they have a sitting area in the back with a fireplace, comfy couches and chairs and we had a good visit for about 2 1/2 hours!

Chelsee's also displays work of local artists in the shop, hanging things on the walls. A couple months (?) ago, Karen displayed her art quilts, and now Lisa has her traditional quilts hanging there through the month of November. I'm so proud of these girls! Their work is top notch.

I was able to finish the hand quilting on my Crossed Tulips machine applique. It's SO FOLKY...I just love it! I did the hand quilting right through everything, appliques and all, and I tell you...that starching everything stiff before machine appliquing was just the ticket. The starch washed out, the appliques are soft, I had control with the machine. I'll definately be exploring more of this.

I also want to admit that I quilted this one from the BACK also. Crumbs are so busy to try to see black thread through, especially since I was following Tonya's lead and freehanding my fans. Chalk lines make it easy to see what you are doing, but freehanded? I could see better by quilting the quilt upside down. So I did! I guess that might make it look like a left-hander did my quilting because from the front the fans go the opposite direction. Let them wonder!

So now the binding and sleeve are on and ready for handwork as is the label.
I might get working on stitching the binding down tonight.


The next hand quilting project? Why stop when I'm on a roll! I've basted "JUST QUILT IT" and it's ready to go. I pieced together some funky stuff for the backing. I'm not sure what I'm going to quilt where yet, because these blocks aren't uniform. I cared more about the width of the blocks than the height....and just let it be really free form. Maybe the quilting will follow suit? At any case, it's ready to go with me in the car to Columbia tomorrow for Turkey Day.

Sunday on Pilot Mountain....

If you are an Andy Griffith fan, or watched it as a kid,you will remember the town of Mayberry, RFD. Mayberry is patterned after Mt Airy, NC, where Andy Griffith grew up. The highway is even NAMED after Andy Griffith around Mt Airy!

If you remember Mayberry, you may also remember many references of trips they took to "Mount Pilot". Mount Pilot is actually Pilot Mountain in reverse, and it is a real town and mountain!

Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day, and so we decided to drive the 45 miles to visit Pilot Mountain. We enjoyed the vistas, did a LOT of hiking. The trails go from moderate to tough, and the stairs up and down are actually large slabs of stone. In other words, who needs a stair master??

The "Knob" of Pilot Mountain, or the "Big Pinnacle" as it is named is just breathtaking. There are trails that go all the way around the base, and we walked that yesterday. It was icy chilly in the shade, the kind that makes you want to draw your hands up inside your sleeves for warmth because you didn't think you would need your gloves! But as soon as you got around the sunny side....out came the hands, and down went the coat zipper!

After hiking around Mount Pilot, we drove to Mt Airy (AKA Mayberry) to see the downtown. Of course, like all good southern small towns, it is all closed up on a Sunday, but it was fun to see things like Floyd's Barber Shop, and Opie's Candy store! We will go back on another day when places are open. They even have an original Mayberry police car there, but we didn't stay long enough to see it.

Of course, the antique malls I wanted to visit were closed as well. Probably a good thing! Besides...I had family with me, and they would have moaned and groaned to all get out if I had made them tag along ;c)

I spent the late afternoon/evening cleaning my sewing room. Oh MAN did it need it. I dusted, arranged, re-arranged, de cluttered, EVERYTHING. I'm settling back in to being home.


While I was cleaning, I caught a couple funny shots of Oscar. I have a bin on top of my file cabinet behind my desk armoir door...I guess he thought it was a small cozy place to take a nap! What a Gomer :cD (And yes, another nickname from the Andy Griffith Show!)

Would you believe that today I am MACHINE QUILTING!?? Is it like riding a bicycle? Will I have forgotten how? I have Jason & Kim's Carolina Crossroads on the machine. I want to have it done to take to Columbia with me for Thanksgiving. So funny, when I told the kids that if Charlotte (Kim's mom) did the piecing, I'd do the quilting..and she said it would take TEN YEARS. Well, the person who took the longest was ME. I guess I couldn't help being gone, but I'm sure wanting this quilt done for them.

3am Hotflash.....Done!

My two boxes came from Wisconsin....the stuff that wouldn't fit into my luggage :c) Along with it was the 3am hotflash quilt that only needed the binding finished,and the sleeve sewn down. I finished it yesterday while watching a movie on TV..with my feet up in the recliner.



I gently washed the quilt, and blocked it to dry. I really like the crinkly texture of cotton quilts when washed. The quilting just sinks in and the detail comes to life, playing against the patches.

Today is bright and clear,but cold for NC in November! It was only 25 degrees this morning. Patches of snow were still there along the interstate as I went to go do some shopping and errands, the patches hidden beneath the limbs of evergreens and hardwood trees, places where the sun couldn't reach to fully melt it yesterday.

And HA to me....I thought I was leaving all this stuff back in Wisconsin and Detroit, and here I seem to have brought cold and snow back with me!


Never mind....it makes it feel more like Thanksgiving. I even hung a Christmas stocking today :c) This one was a gift from Patsy of Middle of Nowhere where I enjoyed being a guest during my time in Wisconsin. I love this stocking SO much Patsy! I keep looking at the patches, the corners chopped off, the interesting quilting design in the alternate blocks. I wish I could know this lady (or this young girl?) and how she came upon her quilting designs...

I've got a fire going in the wood stove...a pot of soup in the crock pot, no where else I need to go today, and the machine is calling me for some more 3.5" stringy crumb blocks. How many do I have so far? Almost 180! They are safety pinned in groups of 10, which makes them easy to count. Do I know what I'm doing yet? Oh, I have some ideas...maybe it will be a whole series..*LOL* All I know is that basket I showed the other day is still not looking at all DOWN. 180 blocks, all with 5 to 8 pieces in them...that is a lot of pieces given purpose, you know? But it is not making a dent. There are still lots of LITTLE pieces left. Little triangles and such. I've been using them for the corners of the string blocks,but I'm also thinking of something I can paper piece with them to give them purpose as well. Maybe a small pineapple or a flying geese block? I wonder....just how many quilts I can get out of this stuff??